Best Videogame Endings Discussed

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Best Videogame Endings Discussed

Posted by simoniker on Wednesday August 20, 2003 @12:02AM from the spoilers-at-yr-peril dept.

Thanks to InsertCredit.com for their lengthy, semi-gonzo, spoiler-containing feature on the evolving nature of game end sequences. They ask "Why should an ending be a time to 'relax'? Why should an ending be something long, and complicated? Why should an action game, really, even have a final 'boss'? Do we need these conventions anymore?", while charting classic game endings from Donkey Kong and Super Mario Bros. through Metroid Prime. They finish things up with the top 11 game endings of all-time, from "an alcoholic cartoon squirrel" to "the collapsing Death Egg."

9 of 126 comments (clear)

It seems obvious... by Quicksilver31337 · 2003-08-20 00:03 · Score: 4, Interesting

Everyone knows that crono trigger has the best endings, being one the first RPGs to experiment with multiple endings depending on how you played and finished the game.

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_______
Death wish, n.: The only wish that always comes true, whether or not one wishes it t
Loom gets my vote by Domini · 2003-08-20 00:23 · Score: 3, Informative

It had crappy graphic and crappy sound, but there was something almost mystical about the ending...

Must be the fact that it was based on a propper work of prose.
My votes by DavidLeblond · 2003-08-20 00:58 · Score: 3, Insightful

The Gabriel Knight series and the 7th Guest had my favorite endings. I'm not sure if I agree with world 8 on Super Mario Brothers being a "cool ending."
Re:I don't want to sound like a prude by Anonymous Coward · 2003-08-20 00:58 · Score: 5, Funny

Unless I missed the bulleting, Slashdot's supposed to be a family website...
Ahhh yes, Slashdot's a place where the whole family can gather around the computer to read the latest about SCO, Linux, computer games and anime.
Fuck you, you shithead prude.
Favourite game ending & most hated end bosses by stardeep · 2003-08-20 01:24 · Score: 5, Interesting

My favourite game ending is that of Monkey Island 2, where everything that has gone on before (including the first adventure) is put in a new light.

I have always despised the concept of end bosses. Why, for example, did a beautifully balanced game like The New Zealand Story have such monstrous bosses? They were so hard to beat that you were bound to lose that wonderful, rela-axed feeling playing that game gave you when faced with that floating walrus.

In RPGs I find the concept of end bosses even more despicable. Worst example? The last third or so of Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Baal, where the designers have obiously run out of ideas (and the overly combat-oriented rule system has been taken to its limits) and the game just ends up throwing countless nearly-unbeatable, often regenerating enemies at you. Where's the roleplaying in that?

(And speaking of disappointing endings: the 'good' ending is identical to the 'evil' one, only with a different voice-over!)

Planescape: Torment got all of that just right: here was a game you could finish without fighting the end boss at all, if that didn't fit your character. I wish they'd make a sequel to that one...

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Sentimentality is merely the Bank Holiday of cynicism.
- Oscar Wilde
Interstate '76 by Demon-Xanth · 2003-08-20 01:46 · Score: 3, Insightful

I can't believe they left this one out. It's THE BEST game ending ever.

Hero walks upto the bad guy who is now stuck in his burning car

Bad Guy: Help, you gotta get me out of here.

Hero throws dice (long story) at bad guy, takes key to nuke. Looks over and sees a ghost of his sister standing there.

Hero: Don't get out of the car, never get out of the car.

Hero pulls out his .45 and proceeds to empty it at a range of less than 2' into the chest of the bad guy.

Now, how many games do you get to play where the end guy doesn't take the "soft" approach and ends up letting the bad guy live if he has the choice? I can't remember too many, that made this one original.

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If you think education is expensive, you should try ignorance -- Derek Bok, president of Harvard
My list of Best and Worst [8bit/16bit] by Metroid72 · 2003-08-20 01:54 · Score: 4, Insightful

What makes a good ending? Is it a surprise twist on the storyline? Is it a rewarding sequence after a hard game?

My personal best (In no particular order):
-Starfox (SNES) - Very underrated, great ending sequence, especially when they show the specs for each boss... the music is great too!
-Final Fantasy II/III (SNES) - I personally think that SQUARE used to make better endings with less resources than now... Anyone agrees?
-Ninja Gaiden (NES) - This is a classic!

-MegaMan III - Here comes Protoman.. it opened the mistery of this new character
-Earthbound - Masterpiece!
-Bionic Commando - The bad guy is... Hitler!!!!

Other great endings: Metroid, Super Metroid, A link to the Past, Link's awakening.

What makes a bad ending? Is it a hard game with a disappointing/unrewarding final sequence? or is it a highly hyped game with a great story where the developers ran out of gas at the end? I've noticed that arcade conversions make very bad endings.

The worst (In no particular order)
-TMNT (NES) -You get just GAME OVER in colored letters
-Axelay (SNES) - Axelay II never came... damn Konami
-SFII (All) - I personally never liked the endings. The gameplay makes it up.

Hard games with unrewarding endings:
Jackal (hard mode), Battletoads (All), Ultima Quest for Avatar, Solar Jetman, Dragon Warrior, POW, Batman (NES), Blaster Master
Before you make a list, know your games by Torgo's+Pizza · 2003-08-20 02:59 · Score: 5, Insightful

Best videogame endings? Hardly. Maybe it should be titled "Best videogame endings of the games I played all time according to me even though I've never touched a computer."
It is a very, very sad list. No mention of Ultima IV, Planescape, Wing Commander III, Baldur's Gate, Planetfall, Zork, or any of the myriad of games with *REAL* endings.
Hint: If you want to make a "all-time" list, do yourself and your readers a favor. Spend a lot of time doing research. That means interviewing and polling friends, people on the street, reading reviews and visiting a library. Then write your article.
Actually, I think there's a reason for that by LiberalApplication · 2003-08-20 05:08 · Score: 3, Insightful
...console games of the pre-memory-card past have not been about storytelling, they were gruelling, punishing exercises in devotion and patience. Few had saves, and most were incredibly repetitive. There really should have been a reward at the end. The same expectation holds for PC games, but they have traditionally been more storytelling interactive experiences than console games. Of course, things have changed now, such that most (good) console games revolve around an intricate plot that deserves resolution, but think about it:
- How many people played all the way through 100 ridiculously difficult levels in Zillion for the SMS?
- How many people even finished Super Mario Brothers? Talk about repetitive, punishing, and unrewarding.
- How many people finished any of the MegaMan games prior to battery-powered memory?
Point being that the endings of the old world of console games were much more important than those of PC games because you had to go through the entire thing in one sitting, performing nearly perfectly, for upwards of three hours, following god knows how many prior attempts that ended in failure. If there wasn't much of an ending, it made you want to toss the damned thing out the window.
This isn't to say that PC games were less important, but that the ability to save your progress and the general nature of PC games made the experience itself part of the reward.
Put it this way: Playing console games was like having sex with the added requirement of five hours of foreplay. If it didn't end happily, it was pretty annoying. Playing PC games was like... um... huh. I can't think of an analogy. Multiple orgasms maybe? Somebody help me out here.